10 Video Games That Were WAY Ahead Of Their Time

Trespasser proves you don't need to be good game to be influential.

And make no mistake, this adaptation of Michael Crichton's work is BAD. It suffers from graphical glitches, atrocious clipping, and sluggish controls. (Also, the production was so rushed, the developers didn't bother giving the lead character a visible left arm!)

Despite receiving a critical pounding, Trespasser has maintained a powerful legacy since it was the first game to have a full physics engine. By utilising classic mechanics, nearly every item you encounter moves like a real object. This engine was so ahead of its time, Valve's Gabe Newell confirmed the physics in Half-Life 2 was taken directly from this game.

Trespasser was also commended for its ability to render hundreds of objects simultaneously, with minimal lagging. Rather than hiding untextured background objects in fog or darkness, Trespasser rendered trees and rocks as 2D sprites, and swapped them with 3D counterparts when the player got close enough. This Impostering technique has helped gaming environments look far more detailed, especially in open world titles. The developers over Halo and Far Cry have admitted this trick helped shape how their levels were laid out.

Ironically, Trespasser is responsible for the creation of some of the best games ever made, despite being hailed as the worst title of 1998!